US president says there is ‘no going back’ on goal of controlling Arctic territory as Emmanuel Macron leads European resistance

• Europe live – latest updates

European leaders have lined up to condemn Donald Trump’s “new colonialism” and warn that the continent was facing a crossroads as the US president said there was no going back on his goal of controlling Greenland.

After weeks of aggressive threats by Trump to seize the vast Arctic island, which is a largely autonomous part of Denmark, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said on Tuesday he preferred “respect to bullies” and the “rule of law to brutality”.

Rolling coverage of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where European Commission president says Europe must respond to geopolitical shocks

• Full report: Trump tariffs over Greenland are an error, says Ursula von der Leyen

Scott Bessent then denies that European Union countries, and the UK, could exercise the “nuclear option” over the Greenland crisis, and dump their holdings of US Treasuries.

Asked how the Treasury Department, and the White House, would prepare for this, Bessent insists it is a “completely false narrative”, and claims the media are “hysterical” over the issue.

I would say this is the same kind of hysteria that we heard on April 2nd. There was a panic.

What I am urging everyone here to do is sit back, take a deep breath, and let things play out.

What president Trump is threatening on Greenland is very different than the other trade deals. So I would urge all countries to stick with their trade deals.